WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Friday (Jun 5) approved US$70 billion in funding for Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown, but only after a long day of votes on multiple amendments that highlighted Republican infighting over some of the president’s other contentious policy proposals.
The Bill would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through the rest of Trump’s term, handing the Republican leader a major victory on one of his signature issues after months of bitter fighting over the future of immigration enforcement.
It now heads to the House of Representatives, where Republican leaders hope to move it early next week to send it to Trump’s desk.
The package follows a record partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this year, when Democrats refused to support new money for immigration enforcement without restrictions on tactics such as raids in sensitive locations and the use of masks by officers.
Republicans rejected those demands, instead choosing to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the fast-track “budget reconciliation” process, which allows them to bypass Democratic opposition if they can keep their own members united.
The Senate vote came after an hours-long amendment marathon known in Washington as a “vote-a-rama”, a chaotic process allowing lawmakers to force votes on politically sensitive issues before final passage.
For Trump, the process meant renewed scrutiny of controversies that have alarmed members of his own party, including a proposed “anti-weaponisation” fund for allies who claim they were unfairly targeted by the government and US$1 billion that had been earmarked for security around his planned White House ballroom.
The underlying immigration Bill no longer included the ballroom money, but both issues became symbols of a broader unease among Republicans about defending Trump’s priorities ahead of midterm elections expected to be dominated by voter concerns over the cost of living.